The Autobiography of Malcolm X Paperback – January 1, 2010

During the George Floyd protests, online activists listed book titles that would help increase black history awareness. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley was among those recommended to me.With this writing, Malcolm X hoped to shed light on how growing up in the black ghettoes shaped his life and character. And he knew it would require a great deal of objectivity on the reader’s part.Indeed, there are harsh truths—painful and soul-crushing truths that justify every bit of anger black people feel. There are also misogynistic generalizations along with expressed anger and vindictiveness toward white women, but, as he stated later in the book, “Anger can blind human vision.”It works both ways.With the “Black Lives Matter” movement, I saw an inability to comprehend that people of color merely demanded the same due process, dignity, and justice given to white people. Those enraged by the protests could not put themselves in those people’s places or even imagine being in that position themselves. They were above it all, and facts didn’t matter. My impression was that they don’t understand because they generally don’t deal with black people personally, Generally speaking, their knowledge of black people is what they see on the news. Or they base their conclusions on the actions of a few, something they wouldn’t do with people of the same race and ethnicity.There’s been an obsession with “sameness” that has baffled me since I was a child.Interesting analogy—when my child was born, I had to get an Rh immune globulin shot because I am Rh-negative and didn’t have the Rh factor marker to mix with Rh-positive blood. If I hadn’t done that, and my son was born Rh positive, my immune system would have made antibodies to reject what it detected as a foreign invasion by attacking his red blood cells. That foreign invasion response. The impulsive instinct to reject what isn’t the same, not close enough, and thereby threatening. It’s part of humanity’s defective design. I don’t recognize you, plain and simple. You don’t belong here. Get out. It’s like a bad science fiction movie where you can’t get through to the people affected and can’t save them.Malcolm X said that, in writing this book, he hoped to help “save America from a grave, possibly even a fatal catastrophe.”I don’t think that’s an exaggeration.I remember, years ago, while dating a biracial man, a black woman said to me, “He’s a black man, honey. You can’t possibly understand a black man the way he needs to be understood.” I didn’t know if she was right or wrong. Sure, I realized, from an early age, that discrimination and oppression were completely unacceptable. I was always willing to understand. I’m certainly a lot more aware now than I was then. Yet there is still more to learn.Responding to speculation as to why he was the way he was, Malcolm X said, “To understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.”He talked a lot about how reading “forever changed the course of his life.”“People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book,” he said. And although women were hardly a second thought in the time that he lived, this applies to them, too.The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley has that ability to change lives. Mr. Haley did an excellent job with it. The pacing was slow—at times, a little too slow, but I’m glad I was patient. It is an important book to read. It proves, as far as I’m concerned, that reading is a must. It has been one of my saving graces in life, and it is what pulled Malcolm X up from the dark, deep, underground tunnels that kept him in the oppressor’s grip, a cycle of self-sabotage and self-loathing that his oppressors created for him and so many others like him.Exploring works like Native Son by Richard Wright and The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley is a great start for people interested in learning why this great divide continues to exist.However, according to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, “As of 2017, Americans spent an average of almost 17 minutes per day reading for personal interest (as compared to almost three hours watching television and 28 minutes playing games and using computers for leisure). Younger Americans (ages 15 to 44) spent, on average, less than 10 minutes per day reading for personal interest.”I firmly believe a lack of reading and exploring is one of the many problems we have in this country.The truth is, you don’t have to like a person to learn from them, but I ended up liking the person who told this story. The tragic end to his extraordinary life saddens me. Malcolm X was open-minded and remained teachable. He came to understand we are not all alike, all of us white people, and it’s the same thing everyone needs to realize about every other race and ethnicity.His conclusion was, it isn’t necessarily “the American white man who is a racist, but the American political, economic, and social atmosphere that automatically nourishes a racist psychology in the white man.” And that “it takes all of the religious, political, economic, psychological, and racial ingredients, or characteristics, to make the human family and the human society complete.” He felt certain if this weren’t the case, we’d have a humane, empathetic society where all of us, rich and poor, could be treated with dignity and respect. He liked the idea of not seeing an inherently evil “enemy” but rather a society that “influences him to act evilly.”Even Christianity—a religion black people clung to for comfort and hope—became part of that racist psychology. He noted that “The Christian church returned to Africa under the banner of the Cross—conquering, killing, exploiting, pillaging, raping, bullying, beating—and teaching white supremacy. This is how the white man thrust himself into the position of leadership of the world—through the use of naked physical power.”I so admire the spiritual courage this man had in his search for the truth.And the truth is, essentially, what makes sense to you after all your exploration and your quest for authenticity. I say it all the time, no group, no matter who, what, or where is perfect. We always have a mix of good and evil. Or, to be kinder, some have seen the light, and others have yet to see it. Let’s hope they keep looking.

This was a wonderful read. I learned so much I never knew. Really gives a more complete picture of who he was and what he believed and why.

Got this as a gift for my boyfriend. Timeless piece to keep in the household

Purchased this book for a family member. Good price.

My second time reading and I got so much more out of it this time. There was much more of Malcolm’s life that I missed in the first reading. Thanks for making this available on Kindle!

Fascinating book. With all the talk on race today, it’s strange that it’s not mentioned.

I’m barely in chapter 2, but I’m already hooked. I love the book. Hopefully the next chapters are good as well

Love this book. Definitely 10/10. Amazing book about his life journey and transformations. I definitely will recommend. His legacy will live on. Long live El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Malcolm X. He will always be remembered.

I recently bought a copy of this book for my 19-year-old grandson who has become interested in the BLM movement. I read it at his age 55 years ago and was moved by Malcolm X's candour, humility and passion to change himself and thus society. I was having a gap year abroad in Israel when I saw the news of his assassination on the front page of an English-speaking newspaper in Tel Aviv. I felt instantly stricken by a sadness I could not have anticipated; it was as if I had lost a personal friend.

I would say don't read the introduction first, because the funeral is in it, you need to get to know what a truly wonderful man malcolm X turned out to be, before you read about the funeral, where you will no doubt shed a tear. I am now checking Malcolm on you tube, What a brilliant and calm man talks nothing but sense. He could have been mayor of New York and President, unfortunately America is so warped and the populace so controlled. I wish he could have left NY and stepped back for a while. They say the truth shall set you free, the truth got Malcolm X free from the hypocrisy of the nation of Islam, SPEAKING that truth is what got him killed.This book is brilliant, a must read.

A fascinating story and a valuable account of an important 20th century figure. It shows us a driven, disturbed, dynamic young man of tremendous intelligence and resilience which left me wondering what might have been if he had not been murdered before he reached the peak of his powers.His journey from a (relatively) happy childhood through turbulent adolescence into a man of history is compelling. We learn of the terrible traumas that shaped his life including the break-up of his family following the racist murder of his father and the subsequent (state induced) breakdown of his mother and the belittling career advice he received at school. We follow him through his teen years as a fast living zoot suited novice gangster with his hair suitably “conked” that leads inevitability to jail where he encounters Elijah Muhammad and converts to Islam.His journey in Islam is fascinating; first he is obsessed with Elijah Mohammed’s teachings which he sees as capturing the struggle of the black man in white supremacist 1950s America then, as his relationship with Elijah deteriorates, he has a further development in his thinking while on the Hajj to Mecca where he experiences people sharing a common cause (Islam) regardless of the colour of the skin.It’s a shame the book is not particularly well written. I think Haley let down Malcolm X by not using his skills as an author (evident, of course, in Roots) to provide better focus to what Malcolm X is looking to say. What we get instead, particularly in the polemic sections of the book that dominate the second part of the autobiography, is writing that comes across as streams of consciousness. As such it is, at times, repetitive, lacking in clarity and somewhat stodgy to read. You can imagine Malcolm X, in his interviews with Hayley that form the basis of this book, letting rip. That, of itself, is interesting. But it doesn’t make the best reading!Overall though, I’d put this in the a list of “must read” books for its insight into an important (and fascinating) person at a pivotal time in 20th century American history.

This guy was one of a kind! In my honest opinion, every being who has an African heritage (take note of the use of words, I didn't say black, because as far as I know, I haven't seen a black person before neither have I set eyes on any white folk in my entire existence. According to Majek Fashek, a popular Nigerian reggae musician: '...only the angels of God are white') in them should endeavour to read this book. It is as simple as that.I knew little or nothing about this great and exceptional being before I read his autobiography. The little I knew about him was that he was very “controversial”. Then again, an Irish colleague of mine once told me a couple of years ago that I looked like Malcom X in my glasses. In order not to appear naive, I just laughed, and then made it a point of duty to research on the man - Malcom X. I tell you what, I’m glad I did and now know the “TRUTH”.The word “controversial” has always been used to describe individuals who do not conform to certain “standards”. But I always say this, so long what anyone does is within the ambits of the law, who cares? For me he wasn’t controversial, but just honest about his opinion. He voiced out what most people at the time and even now couldn’t and wouldn’t dare to say just to appear as being politically correct. I say this with every sense of responsibility: one of the greatest crime any individual could commit against themselves is self-deceit.As a Christian first and foremost and a practicing Catholic, I kind of slightly differ on one particular issue he harped on in this book, which has to do with Christianity. Then again, you could argue that his views were influenced by the actions and deeds of those who practised the Christian faith.Who knows what this guy could have achieved if only those threatened by his popularity and wisdom didn't cut short his life? But, I guess even though they get to spend a million years on planet earth, they will never and can never be as great as Malcom X. For you can only kill a person but not the words of his mouth nor his deeds. Which then leads me to ask the pertinent question, why don’t great men last? You talk about the likes of Robert Nesta Marley, Martin Luther King, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and the list goes on and on.Just like many other great men who did suffer similar fate as him, his deeds, actions and words continue to loom larger and appear more relevant even to this day! He was indeed an embodiment of wisdom, tenacity, determination and conviction! Malcom X has left an indelible mark in the hearts and conscience of so many people – living and dead, his foes and friends, and people of all racial inclinations.

Great book (so far) but terrible print. Had to return the book as was literally painful to read. Would give 1 star but didn't want it to impact the book rating as my issue is with the print quality. Will be going to buy in store. Print is small, faded and blurry. Tried to ignore this but after 30 pages in I found myself torn between wanting to read more and dreading squinting at the book. Can't believe print this quality is being sold in this day and age.